It is typical in vehicles, specifically pick-up trucks, to have a rear window which includes an opening for access to the truck bed and ventilation. It is also typical for such vehicles to include a pair of sliding window panels for spanning the rear window opening. The window panels may be locked to one another in the closed position. Heretofore, latches used to lock the sliding window panels together have been of a common over center latch and bail type. This type of latch requires the user, typically the driver, to turn partially toward the rear window to latch the windows together. Often, this requires the drivers to remove his eyes and attention from the road to operate the latch which is obviously dangerous and unacceptable.